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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25694077">MoD!Harry on holidays in the MCU</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mitsuky/pseuds/Mitsuky'>Mitsuky</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Captain America (Movies), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Marvel Cinematic Universe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Multi, Paper-pushing is a hazard job if you're a Reaper, Protective Harry Potter, The MCU with a twist, Tony gets some love</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 07:29:22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,226</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25694077</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mitsuky/pseuds/Mitsuky</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>For a Reaper, to be told it is their time to assist the Mistress on her holidays is almost as good as a sentence to the gallows. Gael is the lucky one this time around...</p><p>The Mistress of Death, one Harriet Potter, is oblivious of it all.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>56</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Hors d'oeuvre</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This one is for the keeps.<br/>I think I'll go all the way in with it, but expect slow updates.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <h6>Death’s Realm</h6><p>Gael, Reaper ID N°YG-31549, checked into the offices rested and ready for another day at work. He walked steadily into the staff room, prepared himself a cup of coffee as he greeted his colleagues with a smile, left the tupperware with blueberry muffins his wife baked on the table for everyone else to enjoy, and grabbed the folder with his daily assignment from the tall pile in the corner.</p><p>He sat smelling the coffee and sighing in pleasure, he took then a sip of his warm drink, opened the folder, and promptly spat the dark liquid all over Daisy in front of him.</p><p>The blond screeched like a banshee, screaming imprecations at him for ruining her silk blouse, but Gael couldn’t tear apart his eyes from the folder where, in big bold letters announced, that his next assignment will take place for an unknown period of time as the Mistress’ assistant. The warning of preparing himself for anything and everything — mentally or otherwise — as a side note in the Boss’ handwriting was, from his point of view, an unnecessary understatement.</p><p>He felt himself loss colour as he remembered the last time one of them left with the Mistress for a ‘holiday.’ Laura was still assisting therapy sessions once a week, after a century-long past said event.</p><p>Daisy, rag in hand and cleaning her blouse, looked over his shoulder and gasped loudly.</p><p>“Oh my... You’re out of luck today, Gael. Only for that,” the blond patted his shoulder, “I’ll forgive you.” She hastily grabbed her portfolio and leather coat from the chair, giving him one last pitiful glance, “For what is worth, I hope you survive. And don’t worry about Jade, I’ll tell your wife why you’re gone.”</p><p>“Thank you,” Gael whispered at her, but his mind busy as he already prepared his will to write it down, first chance he got.</p><p><em>Please, please, please. Let there not be Leviathans wherever the Mistress decides to go. Or worse, one of the Boss’ siblings.</em> Gael prayed all the way to the Boss’ office, where he’s to present himself and escort Boss’ Mistress to whichever world she’s visiting this time. <em>If I become another Cain and am eaten by one of those things, Jade will have kittens... And probably apply for my soul’s reincarnation just to kill me herself afterwards!</em></p><p>As he arrived close by the tall oak doors of the Boss’ personal office, many other reapers waited in a line with tall stacks of paperwork. Gael eyed them with a grimace and thought that maybe he should be thankful that he at least got to enjoy a decade of doing fieldwork, after a millennium of compiling paperwork for the Boss, and before this dangerous trip with Mistress was announced. There are some who won’t have the same luck.</p><p>Paper-pushing in Death’s Realm is the worst job you can get.</p><p>Boring as dry bones, heavily complex, and with an unbelievably high-rate danger label. That last one because, when the Boss or his Mistress get angry, you can become dust as quickly as just a thought going through their heads.</p><p>Gael himself was one of the lucky survivors of the last rage from the Mistress a good century ago, when a world went into an early and unexpected apocalypse because of greedy vampires that discovered how to cover the skies permanently and tried to take over the planet... by killing their own food source, the brainless leeches. Seventeen souls were suddenly thrown to the reincarnation wheel that day, as they weren’t quick enough to escape the Mistress’ wave attack of fury... And the Boss returned to his demolished office an hour later, cutting short his free weekend after receiving an urgent note of the event, and sending another dozen reapers to the wheel.</p><p>At least the Boss is a good guy and gave all of those souls a good life by sending them to prosperous places and families.</p><p>Finally in front of the door, Gael waited for a reaper to walk out of the room before knocking and he was called inside a moment later.</p><p>Inside the room full of endless bookcases, Death sat on his throne-like chair behind a big desk covered in piles of paperwork while the Mistress sat on the leather couch to the left with a book on hand.</p><p>“Good morning, Gael,” the Boss greeted with a short nod before returning to his task.</p><p>Gael took it as it came, used to the Boss’ straightforward and short vocalization after many years of working for the entity. He returned the greeting and turned to the woman on the couch.</p><p>“Mistress, I’ve been appointed as your guide and assistant during your next holiday.”</p><p>“Oh, okay,” she exclaimed, raising her head with a small smile, “’Morning.”</p><p>“Have you picked a place already, Mistress?” Gael asked as she stood and hung the Cloak over her delicate shoulders.</p><p>“No, I haven’t,” she shook her head. “And if you’re coming along, then I insist you call me Harrie. Or at least, Harriet. None of that ‘Mistress’ bullshit,” she said with a finger pocking the tip of his nose playfully.</p><p>Gael smiled, “As you wish, my lady.”</p><p>“Ugh!” Harriet complained, throwing her hands up and rolling her eyes. “Whatever,” she grumbled and walked up to the tall mirror at Death’s back. “I thought about picking a random place this time, so grab my shoulder and get ready. We’ll deal with the papers and such when we arrive,” she said with a pleased smile.</p><p>Gael felt like dying on the spot. But, filled with dread and all, he gently laid his hand on her shoulder and prepared for whatever craziness was about to take place.</p><p>“By D!” Harriet chirped and activated the mirror with a finger. “Here goes nothing,” she said as numbers changed randomly on top, until they slowed down to a configuration Gael was way too familiar with even if the exact location wasn’t.</p><p>“Try not to break anything this time, brat,” Lord Death said softly behind them.</p><p><em>Oh crap,</em> Gael thought as they crossed over the mirror and shivered with the feeling of time and space bending around them.</p><p> </p>
<h6>MARVEL Universe, Earth, Massachusetts – May 5, 2016</h6><p><em>Charlie Spencer. Charlie Spencer. Charlie Spencer. Charlie Spe</em>- The name repeats like a mantra in his head that Tony can’t help but let go unchecked. His guilt... so much guilt. Always with the guilt. He’s working on it. He’s seriously trying. But it appears that no matter what, there are always ghost happy to remind him, over and over and over, about all the mistakes he’s made.</p><p>The elevator ping, doors opening, and Tony walks out of MIT. When he decided to leave his secretary behind, he didn’t have a plan in mind, but right now he feels ready for a good a treat. That <em>chat</em> with the woman was awkward and left him sour. Time for a sweet, sugary overdose.</p><p>He walks by the parking without much notice. Thankfully, MIT saw so much of himself over the years that he’s capable of blissfully walk by without anyone bothering him or openly gawking.</p><p>With his phone in hand, he asks Friday for directions and luckily, there is a ‘Flour Bakery’ on the next block. He takes his time walking slowly there, enjoying the freedom New York rarely gives him, and only when he isn’t as openly advertising who he is as right now in his trademark business getup.</p><p>A few minutes later he sits to enjoy his bacon sandwich, a cup of black coffee, and a chocolate muffin — with a box of half a dozen more sitting in a corner of his table, to take back with him during the four hours drive back to NY.</p><p>He’s halfway eating his sandwich when a couple sits on the table in front of him, against the window. The woman has wavy long black hair, the greenest eyes he’s ever seen, a petit beautiful body that rocks those leather pants mixed whit a tight long-sleeved green v-neck jersey. The man, in contrast, has silver hair and wears a complete black suit; he can’t see his face, but the guy isn’t old, so he assumes the hair isn’t natural.</p><p>Tony scrolls on his phone and plays around with an idea for an update to the new Stark Phones. The last batch came out roughly seven months ago, but he’s sure he can make a better version worth the money in another month or so...</p><p>“I’m bored, Gael,” the woman whined suddenly, releasing a sigh that shot square in the bullseye of Tony’s libido.</p><p>He’s been having that problem since he and Pepper decided to break up once and for all a while ago. It was like his body suddenly activated a switch, going from ‘in a relationship and unavailable’ to ‘single and up for anything’ in an instant. If anything made him realized he wasn’t actually a hundred per cent happy with his relationship with Pepper, was that. It also helped that she started dating only two weeks later. He didn’t feel so bad then, when he retook to partying and sleeping around — truthfully, it wasn’t as often as before, but he was enjoying the slower rhythm nonetheless.</p><p>“If I wanted to visit ‘historic places’ like the Freedom Trail, I’d travel to the middle of the event while it was taking place, not the sad skeletons that remain today,” the woman continued and plopped her head on the palm of her hand, stirring her tea with a gloomy look.</p><p>“What about the art museum?” The voice of the man was that of someone middle-aged, maybe.</p><p>Tony looked at the man’s back with curiosity. What was it with the guy’s hair? And, since when is he unable to mind his own business...?</p><p>A glare from the woman makes the man sigh tiredly.</p><p>“You went to the central embassy, saying you’d take care of searching for the best things to do and see around, and yet, here I am, bored out of my mind.” Raising a finger, she pocked the guy’s head... or was it his nose? Tony wasn’t sure. “You know what happens when I get bored, Gael. Don’t make me run off by myself. You and I both, don’t want to deal with Morty’s temper afterwards.”</p><p>Tony snorted inside his head and finished his sandwich with a pleasant hum. Happy that it was finally time for his cupcake.</p><p>“Yes, Mistre-, sorry, Harriet.”</p><p>Tony almost chocked on his first bite, eyes shooting upwards and coming eye to eye with the bright green of Beauty. She sighed, glowering at Middle-age Crisis, and dismissing him with a wave of her hand.</p><p>“Go back and search for something <em>fun</em> to do next, or I swear, I’ll leave you at the underworld’s gate without your identifications!”</p><p>The man stood slowly, replying a lazy ‘yes, Harriet’ and left.</p><p>Tony looked until Middle-age Crisis was lost in the crowd and when he turned back his attention to Beauty, she was staring straight at him, smiling once he paid attention to her.</p><p>“Useful help is so hard to come by, isn’t it?” She said loud enough for him to hear and sipped her tea.</p><p>Tony snorted, “Tell me about it.”</p><p>“Do you mind?” She asked next, with a finger pointing to the free chair at his table.</p><p>“Be my guest,” Tony told her with a nonchalant shrug. He certainly didn’t mind such a pretty company.</p><p>Beauty quickly changed tables, taking along her cup of tea and extending her hand when she was seated.</p><p>“Harriet Potter,” she said a little warily, “Nice to meet you.”</p><p>“Tony Stark,” he replied with a surprised eyebrow rising before he could think, “Pleasure.”</p><p>After a second of silence, where both of them shared surprised looks, Harriet broke down laughing and Tony himself cracked a smile.</p><p>“My, my...what are the odds?” Harriet mumbled, raising the steaming cup to her lips and eyeing him appraisingly. “This is such a banal setting, that I never expected it. I heard so much about you Mr Stark, forgive me for not recognising you earlier,” she said with an oddly warm smirk for someone she just met.</p><p>“It’s fine,” Tony dismissed her concerns with a joke, “It’s not like a muggle like me can easily recognise the vanquisher of the Dark Lord either, Miss Potter.”</p><p>Harriet laughed, throwing her head back and giving him a nice view of her bouncing chest.</p><p>“Good grief,” she said rubbing off a tear, “I can’t believe those books exist here too. What a nightmare.” A faint blush appeared on her cheeks as she fidgeted with her fingers over the rim of the porcelain.</p><p>“Wh-at?” Tony spluttered, momentarily taken aback.</p><p>Harriet shrugged, giving him a mischievous smirk, “You’re Iron-Man, are you not?”</p><p>“Yes...?” He said confused. “What does that have to do with anything, though?”</p><p>“After you met literal Gods, is it really that hard to believe that I’m the Potter from those books?” She said remorselessly. “I’m not going to try and lie to a man as intelligent as you, Mr Stark.”</p><p>Tony gaped at her twice before his mouth clicked shut. Really, after all the things he’s seen, it doesn’t really sound so farfetched, but, still...</p><p>“Besides, I kind of liked your character in the comics. I’d feel awful betraying one of my favourite Marvel superheroes like that...and I’m sure you can deal with the knowledge.”</p><p>“Prove it,” Tony suddenly said. Eager, at the same time he dreaded the use of magic so close to him.</p><p>Harriet hummed, crossing her arms on the edge of the tabled and twitching a finger upwards. Tony fell his skin crawl as some unknown sensation washed over him.</p><p>“A ward to keep off unwanted attention,” Harriet explained a second later, noticing his uneasiness.</p><p>Then, she put her hand over the teaspoon, covering the silverware for a second before removing it. And when she did, there was a thin garden snake there. He blinked furiously at it, watching enraptured as the small serpent raised her head, swaying in place while her small tongue tasted the air.</p><p>Harriet hissed at it, Tony noticed with a twitching eye. The sound was quite different from the one used by Tom Riddle in the second movie though. It was soft and not at all unnatural sounding. Like the noise of a punctured gas pipe, but way lower in volume, almost difficult to hear. Her lips barely separated too, when in the movie the actor clearly mouthed sounds.</p><p>The snake cocked its head at Harriet, listening, replying, and then moved to his half of the table. Tony stiffened instantly.</p><p>“Don’t be afraid,” Harriet whispered, “She’s only curious. She says you smell like a warm breeze of air from the forest and she likes it.”</p><p>Tony observed the small creature in silence. The snake slithered close to his clasped hands in front of the cup of coffee and his finger twitched when its tongue brushed against his skin. It was a short and breath-taking experience, both by the adrenaline pumped by his slight fear and because of his delight in the out of the norm experience, but Tony was soon happy when the snake slithered away.</p><p>Harriet let the animal slither onto her cupped hands then, and after a gold shimmer run along it, the snake became a teaspoon once more.</p><p>Tony took in a deep breath, slumping against his chair and feeling suddenly drained.</p><p>“You’re...Harry Potter?” He asked, eyes still fixed on her hands.</p><p>“<em>Harriet</em> Potter,” she clarified, “And probably not the one mentioned in the books here,” she explained. “It’s very rare that the books have a female Potter, much less my exact own story. Which, let me tell you, varies widely from the common one about Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, and the most gullible creature I ever met. My own story isn’t really something for children, I think.”</p><p>“Wow, no love lost there, eh?” Tony laughed.</p><p>“I’d never let Dumbledork lead me by the nose like those Harry do, please,” Harriet scoffed.</p><p>“You don’t like Dumbledore?”</p><p>“Annoying, meddlesome, self-serving, bastard,” Harriet mumbled to the side, letting quite clear her view of the wizard. “Let’s change the subject,” she suddenly said with a stubborn expression. “If I want to have fun in this world, what should I do? Where do I go?”</p><p>“Depends on what you like,” Tony replied and finished his cupcake.</p><p>“Old books on magic I don’t know yet, which I doubt you have or know about,” Harriet joked, “And tasting new food, seen beautiful <em>unique </em>sights, trying uncommon activities...”</p><p>“How uncommon?”</p><p>Harriet shrugged, “Ice-skating battle royal was my favourite one, the last time I visited another universe-” Tony filed the ‘another universe’ comment with only a few quick blinks of surprise and kept listening. “Before that, I visited the Summer Isles and arrived just for the Celebration of Love. Which, basically, is a massive orgy that lasts for three days and three nights in all the land,” Tony cocked his head, unable to speak. “Then, there was also the tournament of <em>‘duels to death with knives.’</em> The last standing earned the right to sit on the throne. I won but, as you see, I have better things to do than sit all day hearing about the nobles complaining of this or that.”</p><p>“It wasn’t really a duel to the death with knives though, right? That’s just a silly name...”</p><p>“Oh, no. It most certainly was. I learned many new knives throwing skills there. It was so much fun,” Harriet smiled, sighing wistfully. “Anyway, before then... hum... Oh, right! The drinking competition with the Gods of Olympus, which, of course, ended in an orgy. Fun times,” she giggled. “There was also that time Oghma’s library burnt down and they asked anyone available for help, collecting and categorizing all of the knowledge known in his universe. I created so much crap that he popped out of existence for a while when he discovered them. Best prank ever! They’re back and fine now, don’t look so worried. Time took care of fixing everything,” Harriet said with a wave of her hand.</p><p>“I don’t... I...” Tony was, possibly for the first time, speechless.</p><p>“I visited this world once too... It has many elves races... and crazy pantheons... I think there is a series of games and books about it in some worlds,” but apparently she couldn’t remember so she shrugged it off.</p><p>“I’m afraid there aren’t as exciting things to do here, in old boring Earth,” Tony said with a jittery laugh, “But I have tickets for tonight’s Boston Symphony Orchestra if you’re interested.” He raised his phone, showing her the e-mail with the message from a friend a few days ago who send him the invitations. “I’d like to hear more about your stories until then though, if you don’t mind,” he said hopeful.</p><p>And maybe, if he was lucky, he’d get an explanation about those other universes... and who are her other favourite superheroes.</p><p>Unbeknownst to him, Tony forgot all of his previous worries for the rest of the day. Instead, he enjoyed his unexpected outing with Harriet Potter, a witch from a different universe, that kept him dazed with so much new and interesting information. He loved it.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Interlude</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Why did this turn so serious?!<br/>What is this leaking down my face?<br/>I think I broke something, gotta go call the mechanic...</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <h6>June 4, 2016</h6>
<p>Harriet smiles when her phone informs her that Tony is calling her.</p>
<p>After meeting him almost a month ago, her holidays suddenly took a turn for the better. Where walking around and learning the history of the world alone is boring, Tony makes it <em>fun</em> with silly commentary. She usually hates going to art galleries, feeling stupid at watching them for more than a minute at best; Tony takes her to an art gallery, cracks jokes, and they laugh together, leaving after a short visit and eating hot dogs from a random street vendor. As a rule, talking about her life with the Dursleys, then the years at Hogwarts and her fight for independence and avoidance of the war is the last thing she talks about with someone she barely knows, or anyone; with Tony it comes suddenly, naturally, and easily; they talk about each other’s experiences over the years and share their misadventures and painful memories during astounding light conversations and there is no judgement or pity from either side.</p>
<p>As they meet on and off, she visits other galaxies, planets, realms, realities...and finds herself looking forward to their outings, buying small knickknacks to gift the man with; sometimes they are just odd and alien looking small figurines, oftentimes they are not so complex machines she thinks he may find interesting to tinker with, and in the rarest cases it’s the spoils of some broken machinery from someone that got her mad and she’s blown off to kingdom come.</p>
<p>Gael isn’t happy about it. Any of it. But a glare from her usually shouts his complaints about telling a common mortal about her true origins and sharing so much time with them. She comments about how mellower her time is turning out sometimes and he relents on his disagreement. Or she simply sends him away with her magic when she’s annoyed, letting him find his own way back from wherever random location he landed in their current reality.</p>
<p>“Hi there,” Harriet chirped finally taking the phone to her ear, expecting an equally warm greeting from him, but the voice that answers her is nothing like Tony’s usual self.</p>
<p>“Harriet,” he says with a tight and rough voice. Maybe he just woke up, or maybe he’s with the flu, but as he breathes raggedly afterwards, her chest tightens; worry shoots in her head. “Hey... do you mind if...”</p>
<p>“Tony? Are you alright?” She asks very concerned now. It isn’t like him to sound so insecure.</p>
<p>“I’m f-... I...”</p>
<p>“What do you need? ... Tony, please speak to me... Are you safe?” Nothing. Only silence greets her. “Tony, you’re making me worry...” A sob sounds on the speaker and her heart stops, “Damn it... Tony, I want you to chill, okay? I’m coming over. Don’t freak out when I appear close by.”</p>
<p>She hangs up and runs from the loo and into her room at the Asgardian golden castle. She was visiting Thor, who was more than happy to show her around after she gave him some pop tarts and updates from Tony. The thunder God was like a puppy, all smiles and warmth, seriously, he was only lacking the cute waging tail and he’d be spot on. She really likes him.</p>
<p>As she hastily puts on her discarded pyjama pants and rubs the sleep off her eyes, she shadows away and takes a step right in front of a smiling Thor.</p>
<p>“Hey Thor, sorry for the short news, but I have to leave.”</p>
<p>“Is everything alright, Lady Death?” He asks while looking at her almost nude form with a cute blush.</p>
<p>“Tony called just now. I’m not sure what happened, but he sounded... not good.”</p>
<p>Before she can leave, Thor grabs her hand with worried look, “Please, let me know if friend Stark needs my help. I’ll go immediately.”</p>
<p>“Sure, Thor.” And then, as she turns to open a rift in reality and jump back to Earth, she notices that she just literally appeared in the middle of the training grounds where lots of soldiers’ ogle at her shamelessly... and she’s only in a flimsy pyjama set. “Hey guys,” she waves at the warriors three and Sif nearby, deliberately ignoring the embarrassing blush creeping up, “Bye guys!” And she leaves Asgard behind.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>She appears in the sitting room of Tony’s penthouse, with the big windows overseeing Manhattan; the room is empty as she looks around.</p>
<p>“Friday?”</p>
<p>“Yes, Miss Potter?”</p>
<p>“Can you lead me to Tony, please?”</p>
<p>“Of course.”</p>
<p>As the AI guides her, Harriet marvels not for the first time at Tony’s creation. She met Dummy and You three days ago and they were amazing. It was also a shock to notice the small spark of <em>souls</em> developing in them then. Truly, Tony’s incredible. And, feeling a little self-conscious now, she changes her clothes to something more appropriate as she walks to avoid the scene from Asgard to repeat.</p>
<p>The penthouse is so big; Friday gives her direction until Harriet reaches another white door in a corridor full of white doors. She knocks on it, calling Tony’s name, but no one answers.</p>
<p>“Tony, I’m coming inside okay...?” Nothing.</p>
<p>Harriet opens the door to a dark room. It’s probably been five minutes or so since they talked, but Tony is still sitting in a corner with the phone to his ear and a face of utmost pain with tear tracks running down his cheeks.</p>
<p>“Tony?” She asks again and finally she sees his eyes move in her direction. “Friday, can you turn on the lights slightly?”</p>
<p>No answer comes, but the layout of the room becomes clearer immediately after. She avoids the bed and some clothes thrown haphazardly around the floor, until she’s a step away from him and kneels.</p>
<p>“Is it okay if I touch you, Tony? I want to hug you,” She asks, knowing without him needing to tell her about his panic attacks. She’s read the comics, knows the signs of them from self-experience, way in the past, and he gave her tiny hints about having them sometimes when they talked before.</p>
<p>Tony nodded slightly, another tear falling. From up this close Harriet can see his red eyes filled with hurt and puffy, his nose is also red, and as she moves forward to hug him, he’s shaking slightly too.</p>
<p>She puts her arms around him slowly, fearing that he’ll get all panicky on her if she does something wrong; but instead of panic, Tony surprises her with a strong hug, moving her to lie more on his lap than her knees. The position is awkward and uncomfortable, but she bears with it and holds him tightly while wet specks fall along her neck from where his face is pressing against it.</p>
<p>Her legs fall sleep after a while and Tony stops crying, but they remain in the same position. It isn’t until the sun is coming up, filling the room with an orange twinge, that sound comes from outside the room and Tony twitches.</p>
<p>The clicking of heels is heard long before the knock to the door comes. When Tony doesn’t answer to it or move at all, a voice joins the next knock.</p>
<p>“Tony, can I come in?” A female voice comes from behind the closed entrance.</p>
<p>“Tony...” Harriet whispers, but his only reaction to acknowledge any of them is to borrow tighter against her.</p>
<p>Another knock comes a minute later and she sighs.</p>
<p>“Please, Tony...” The female’s voice calls again.</p>
<p>“Is it okay if I let her in?” Harriet asks and Tony sighs slowly. Her neck tickles and Harriet grimaces at her way too out of place reaction.</p>
<p>He doesn’t say anything, so she takes it as a ‘your choice’ type of answer. She focuses a little more than usual on her magic, needing it since she doesn’t have her hands to give it direction, and a breath later the door cracks open. The heels click on the floor twice before the woman sees them and gasps.</p>
<p>Harriet turns her head then to find the famous Victoria ‘Pepper’ Pots standing there, and gives the woman a smile slash frown.</p>
<p>“Who are you?” Pepper asks without inflection and tries to take a better look at Tony but can’t as he’s doing a marvellous work of becoming one with her green dress.</p>
<p>“Hi, I’m Harriet... I don’t know if Tony told you anything-”</p>
<p>“Harriet Potter?” Pepper whispers with wide eyes. “Oh... that explains...” and she moves her hand up and down in their direction, seemingly less worried now. “I cancelled Tony’s appointments for today...” she stars speaking then, regaining her composure, “I didn’t want to leave him alone but... well, with you here, I can focus on keeping the vultures at bay.”</p>
<p>Harriet hummed, cutting the woman’s next words, “Can you tell me... what happened? He called me, but didn’t say much. And also, Thor was worried and asked to be informed if he needed to come by as backup.”</p>
<p>“Thor?” Pepper mumbled with a frown.</p>
<p>“I was in Asgard when Tony called,” she explains.</p>
<p>“Oh...” Pepper sighed and lowered her head, pinching her nose with her fingers and looking already tired. “Did Tony tell you who Peggy Carter is?” She asked once she calmed.</p>
<p>Harriet’s eyes widened. “Yes.”</p>
<p>Tony’s arms tightened around her middle when Pepper spoke next. “She passed away on her sleep last night,” the ginger whispered and took a deep breath, turning away hastily with a softly spoken ‘excuse me’ before she left.</p>
<p>Harriet felt a knot form on her throat as her hands move by themselves. One rubbing Tony’s back and the other petting his head. Now she understands the heavy feeling of mourning surrounding the two mortals. No wonder they are feeling so terrible.</p>
<p>Peggy Carter was Tony’s godmother. The most important woman in Tony’s life after his own mother. She, along Jarvis, practically raised Tony before Howard sent him off to high school and then college. She was also there when she could and Obadiah didn’t intercept her, after his parents died. And after, when her Alzheimer claimed the best of Peggy, she more often than not didn’t recognise Tony, making his visits to her a bitter affair, and when she started calling him ‘Howard’ he couldn’t do it anymore and slowly stopped visiting altogether.</p>
<p>Remembering Sirius, the pain, the anger, and everything else she felt when her godfather died because of Dumbledore’s secret keeping and her own panicked actions, she understood a little of Tony’s pain. She didn’t pity him as she knows how he dislikes that, but she understands.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>She stayed for the next four days at the penthouse, accompanying him in the silent mourning and making sure he didn’t forget about taking care of himself after a short message from Pepper about Tony’s bad habit of forgoing food, sleep, and personal hygiene when facing hard times.</p>
<p>The next couple of days where hard. Tony closed off, locking down inside the workshop for hours and forgetting everything and everyone else, speaking in short sentences and ignoring when asked about his emotional state, walking around like a ghost and forgetting to eat or wash; at the same time he became clingy and would hug her in silence for hours when he woke up after a couple of hours of sleep, or when she was in bed at night at her room — she wakes up with her heart racing in her chest the first time and almost attacks him, or even when cooking their meals at random times.</p>
<p>Pepper, Rhodey and Happy visited as often as their schedules allowed them. Pepper was there every morning and they became a little close during their shared coffee each day. Rhodey could only come by once, but was happy that Tony had someone there with him that he trusted, even if he wished he could stay longer and support his friend before he was called away for an emergency. Happy was the one who stayed the longest, sharing the evenings after his shift with them until dinner time.</p>
<p>On the fourth day, Tony and Pepper had a loud discussion. Happy was there too, trying to talk some sense into his boss’ and best friend’s head. But Tony was adamant about not attending the funeral. She understood that his presence would distract the attention from his godmother to him by default, but that was no reason to not pay his respects and she chose to leave him be instead of escalating the discussion by adding her opinion.</p>
<p>In the end, Tony walked away and overruled them with a new protocol he put on Friday, blocking their entrance to the lab. Something Pepper complained about since it was all the Avengers’ fault for worsening Tony’s need for a heaven to himself.</p>
<p>“What else can we do?” Happy asked tiredly when Pepper sat on the sofa, crying.</p>
<p>“I don’t know,” the woman sobbed, defeated. “Unless he decides to fly to London in the middle of the night in his suit, it’s late already,” she said glancing at her phone and angrily trusting it face down on the coffee table.</p>
<p>“If I have to manhandle him into his clothes, and drag him there in the morning, I will,” Harriet reassured them softly. “I won’t let him do this to himself. He’ll regret it for the rest of his life otherwise.” And she knows exactly what she’s talking about, Dumbledore took the choice from her but she still felt bad about missing Sirius’ funeral until she died, only coming to terms with it when she talked with his spirit in Death’s realm.</p>
<p>Pepper surprised her then, turning on the couch and hugging her while hiccupping and saying many thanks in between.</p>
<p>“Seriously, don’t worry. I can have him there in seconds in there if needed,” she said patting the ginger on the back. “Magic is handy like that.”</p>
<p>That earned a watery laugh from the woman, that sat back to clean up, and Happy looked content. He winked at her with his own thanks when Pepper wasn’t watching.</p>
<p> </p>
<h6>London – June 8, 2016</h6>
<p>Pepper and Happy left around ten and Harriet went to sleep a little later, after asking about Tony one final time and shaking her head at the response. He was drinking and tinkering in his lab again.</p>
<p>At half past three, Harriet woke up as the Elder Wand softly vibrated under her pillow, where she put it the previous night. Groggy and in a bad mood with only five hours of sleep under her belt, Harriet asked for Tony’s whereabouts again. The answer should have been obvious, really.</p>
<p>She forewent using the stairs after she found the elevator disabled and ‘under maintenance,’ shadowing down to the lab with an angry snarl at Tony’s pettiness. He literally squeaked when she appeared right in his face, coffee flying to air as he waved his arms around in surprise.</p>
<p>As she was not in the mood for any of that, she froze the liquid and cup mid-air, ignoring Tony’s startled look and wild questions about the physics involved that made a reappearance after four days. With another movement, Tony was rudely cleaned up from head to toe with magic. His superficial skin and his blood equally.</p>
<p>The effect was immediate. His playfully oblivious mood sobered in a second, a scowl appearing on his face as she stood with crossed arms in front of him and stared in silence, and then he was angry. But she didn’t let him rant. Instead, she broke his resolve with a single sentence.</p>
<p>“What would Peggy feel about your absence to her own funeral?” She asked with the coldest tone she could muster.</p>
<p>Tony blanched.</p>
<p>“Get dressed, Tony. I’m your friend, but I’m also the Mistress of Death. There’s nothing you can do to stop me. I’m taking you to your godmother’s funeral, period.”</p>
<p>And saying her piece, she turned to leave.</p>
<p>“That’s not fair!” Tony complained loudly when she was beyond the mirrored wall and she couldn’t help but to crack a smile.</p>
<p>And suddenly, the elevators doors were opening to her when she prepared to take the stairs.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>The cathedral was full of people when they arrived. The arrangement, the flowers, the <em>pictures</em>. Harriet swallowed as memories of the funerals she attended when she was alive resurfaced. Dealing with the <em>paperwork</em> is way different to <em>being</em> there. Seeing the people mourning a loved one, the crying, the eulogies... it was always harder. Tony sags next to her as they step into the church.</p>
<p>“I... I can’t-”</p>
<p>“Yes, you can.”</p>
<p>Harriet grabs his elbow with more force and moves them to one side of the door since people keeps walking into the church.</p>
<p>“This isn’t about you, Tony,” she says, no matter how much it pains her, with a hard look as they face each other, “This is about her. About giving her the goodbye she deserves. For all the times she was there for you, guided you, supported you, and was like a second mother to you. <em>You owe her this much</em>,” she whispers as she looks deep into his eyes.</p>
<p>“I wasn’t a good godson to her in the end...” Tony’s lips wobble.</p>
<p>“Then, this is your last chance to make it up to her,” she said with a reassuring smile.</p>
<p>Tony stared at her for a long moment, gathering himself together the longer he did so, and finally, he smiled.</p>
<p>“You’re right,” he whispered and raised his hands to cup her face. “Of course. You’re right.”</p>
<p>The look of adoration he gave her before he kissed her, was only matched by the one she directed at his back as he walked with purpose to the podium.</p>
<p>Harriet smiled, touching her tingling lips as she watched Tony talking with Peggy’s niece and then hugged her. And later, when the pallbearers brought the casket, Margaret Carter’s spirit appeared accompanied by a reaper. The woman was back to looking thirty or so, and she turned in Harriet direction’s when Tony finished giving the eulogy; she mouthed a ‘thank you’ before she disappeared.</p>
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